General autonomous robot control software architectures have a 3-tier control architecture having a hybrid form of deliberative control software for achieving intelligence and reactive control software for achieving autonomous reactivity. However, research in the robot control software field has mainly focused on abstract architecture technologies, and a detailed implementation method has not been disclosed.
Middleware technologies for integration of distributed software have so far been developed substantially as technologies for corporation-level computer software such as parallel computer technologies. Thus, most technologies have omitted details of the guarantee of real-time performance required by systems such as robots. Independent communication middleware or independent platform middleware have been disclosed in the prior art, but there has not yet been disclosed an invention relating to middleware that comprehensively includes all layers.
A recent example disclosure of the application of distributed software integration technologies to robots is a method for communication between objects of a famous pet-type robot, which was developed in Japan and filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office and disclosed with Korean Patent Publication No. 2000-7015057 (Applicant: Sony Corporation, Nobuyuki Idei).
The method disclosed in the publication has many similar features to the present invention. For example, the prior-art method is implemented based on a modularized robot to meet various demands of consumers, and separately manages hardware-dependent software and hardware-independent software and also supports late binding of software.